Comparison

Soft Drummer vs SynthMaster 3 Player

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Soft Drummer

This app generates realistic, improvisational drum grooves for various genres using brushes, hot rods, and hands. It functions as an AUv3 plugin for DAWs and offers extensive sound customization, live performance pads, and song structuring capabilities. Export options include audio, MIDI, and effects.

Highlights
  • Improvisational drum groove generation
  • AUv3 plugin for DAWs
  • Brush, hot rod, and hand playing styles
  • Multi-layer sounds with round robin
  • Live performance pads
  • Song structure building
  • MIDI In/Out and Ableton Link sync
Features
Read full description

Soft Drummer is your subtle session drummer, and now it works as an AUv3 plugin inside GarageBand, AUM, Loopy Pro or your favourite DAW. It doesn't loop. It improvises. With brushes, hot rods and hands, Soft Drummer generates warm, musical grooves for ballads, soft pop, jazz and latin, adapting in real time like a real session player. No patterns. No repetition. AUv3 Use Soft Drummer as a plugin in any AUv3 host. Send and receive grooves between Soft Drummer, Pop Drummer and iBassist. Sync everything in real time. SOUND More than 50 multilayer sounds with 3 hit types (ghost, accented, drag/open) × 3 Round Robin alternating samples for natural, authentic feel. 4 playing styles: Brushes, Hot Rods, Hands and Mallets. 4 Effects: Compressor/Gate, EQ, Delay and Reverb with individual track control. LIVE PERFORMANCE 8 assignable Live Pads for fills, intros and endings, playable live or with any MIDI controller (iRig Blueboard and 4-button compatible). Ableton Link sync for tight integration with your setup. SONG MODE Build your song structure in seconds. Arrange rhythmic sections and let Soft Drummer follow your song from intro to outro. MIDI MIDI Out, MIDI Sync (Legacy, recommended Ableton Link), Sound Module (Play individual sounds by MIDI In). ⏺ Assignable MIDI controls (default mapping): - Transport: Play: G2 · Fill: C2 · Fill + Play/Stop: A2 · Tap Tempo: Bb2 - LivePads: Pads 1–8: C1–G1 · Load LivePad: C3 · Previous LivePad: Db3 · Next LivePad: D3 · Select LivePad Set: Eb3 · Fill on LivePad Change: E2 - Performance: Toggle Hats/Ride: Db2 · Fill + Toggle Hats/Ride: D2 · Toggle Snare: Eb2 · Crash Cymbal: B2 · Random: B1 - Songs: Previous: Gb2 · Next: Ab2 - Continuous controls: Jam: CC1 · Intensity: CC2 · Master Volume: CC7 · Swing: CC11 · Progression: CC12 · Tempo Fader: CC20 · Reverb: CC91 - Sound selection: Bank: CC32 · Rhythm: CC0 · Soundset: Program Change All assignments are user-remappable. Note octave naming follows the Logic / Cubase / Ableton / Pro Tools convention (middle C = C3) and is adjustable in MIDI Setup → OCTAVE REFERENCE. Tempo Fader is standalone-only (host-driven in AUv3). EXPORT Multi-Track or Full Mix export in seconds. Audio, MIDI or with Effects , your choice. TRY FOR FREE Soft Drummer is free to explore for 7 days with access to all features. Some actions are limited during the trial (exports, random grooves, sound changes and bars per session). After the trial, keep playing with more limitations. Unlock the Full Version with a one-time purchase, no subscription. Extra drummers (Clayton and Joe), sound packs and Studio Mix are sold separately.

About

SynthMaster 3 Player

This music app allows users to play and tweak a vast library of synthesizer presets. It offers a multi-layer architecture and extensive expansion content for diverse sound design possibilities. Users can easily browse and preview sounds before loading them.

Highlights
  • Tweak existing synthesizer presets
  • Multi-layer architecture (up to 16 layers)
  • Edit keyboard zones, velocity, voicing, unison, arpeggiator, FX
  • Compatible with SynthMaster expansion banks
  • In-app shop for purchasing expansions
  • Preset previews with audio playback
Read full description

SynthMaster 3 Player iOS is the mobile player version of KV331 Audio's flagship synthesizer SynthMaster 3. It is tailored towards user who prefer tweaking existing presets over designing sounds from scratch. It is available for free on Apple AppStore as a standalone app and AUv3 plugin. Free Factory Content: SynthMaster 3 Player iOS comes with 200 presets curated from SynthMaster One, SynthMaster 2 and SynthMaster 3 factory libraries. Once users complete registration, the number of free presets increase to 500. Rich Expansion Content: SynthMaster 3 Player iOS is compatible with SynthMaster One, SynthMaster 2 and SynthMaster 3 expansions. There are currently 60 expansion banks for a wide range of genres to choose from. Users can easily purchase these expansions through the In-App Shop inside the app. Much more than a ROMpler synth: Although users can not edit layer modules and modulation sources, they can edit all other layer parts such as keyboard zones, velocity zones, voicing, unison, arpeggiator, sequencer and insert FX. Multi-layer Architecture: Each SynthMaster 3 Player iOS instance can have up to 16 layers. Users can add new layers by loading existing presets into layers through the preset browser. Preset Previews: Presets in SynthMaster 3 Player iOS have built-in previews. Users can listen to the previews of presets after turning on the preview mode. In-App Shop: Users can easily purchase expansion banks as in-app-purchases.

Screenshots

Soft Drummer4 screens
SynthMaster 3 Player4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: SynthMaster 3 Player at weekly against Soft Drummer's every 4 weeks. Soft Drummer's advantage is ratings volume (516 vs 71). On price, rating, review sentiment and ads there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Soft Drummer sells 8 one-off in-app purchases and SynthMaster 3 Player sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Soft Drummer against 4.7 for SynthMaster 3 Player. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Soft Drummer has 516 ratings behind it against 71, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 91% of Soft Drummer's written reviews are positive against 87% of SynthMaster 3 Player's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Soft Drummer ships an update every 4 weeks, SynthMaster 3 Player weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 11, 2026 and November 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Soft Drummer versus SynthMaster 3 Player: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSoft DrummerSynthMaster 3 Player
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (516 ratings) — better4.7 (71 ratings)
Positive reviews91.3% of reviews — better86.7% of reviews
Number of ratings516 — better71
Update frequencyEvery 4 weeksWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS1615 — better
Further details — not scored
Size816 MB2.2 GB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLumbeatKV331 Audio

Customer experience

Soft Drummer

All ratings515 ratings
Positive93.8%
Neutral3.5%
Negative2.7%
Written reviews609 reviews
Positive91.3%
Neutral4.4%
Negative4.3%

SynthMaster 3 Player

All ratings55 ratings
Positive90.9%
Neutral3.6%
Negative5.5%
Written reviews15 reviews
Positive86.7%
Neutral6.7%
Negative6.7%

Bugs and requests

Soft Drummer

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Song mode issues, including crashes and missing features
  • Compatibility problems with newer iOS versions and devices

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add support for time signatures beyond 4/4
  • Improve MIDI integration and control
  • Implement audio/MIDI export options
  • Provide preset management and organization

SynthMaster 3 Player

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

8 purchases

Soft Drummer

One-time8
  • Big & Low$3.99
  • Presence$3.99
  • Raw Brush$3.99
Show 5 more
  • Tight Control$3.99
  • Clayton$4.99
  • Joe$4.99
  • Studio Mix$8.99
  • Soft Drummer Full Access$22.99
10 purchases

SynthMaster 3 Player

One-time10
  • SynthMaster 2 Expansions Bundle$2.99
  • NatLife Melodic Techno Sounds Vol 1$4.99
  • New Loops Cinematic Sounds Volume 1$4.99
Show 7 more
  • New Loops Synthwave Sounds Volume 1$4.99
  • Luftrum 33$4.99
  • SynthMaster 2 Factory Presets$9.99
  • SynthMaster 3 Factory Presets$9.99
  • SynthMaster 3 Expansions Bundle$19.99
  • SynthMaster Factory Presets Bundle$24.99
  • SynthMaster Everything Bundle$99.99

Questions

Is Soft Drummer free?
Soft Drummer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is SynthMaster 3 Player free?
SynthMaster 3 Player is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Soft Drummer or SynthMaster 3 Player?
Soft Drummer is rated higher. Soft Drummer averages 4.7 out of 5 from 516 ratings, while SynthMaster 3 Player averages 4.7 from 71 ratings.
Do Soft Drummer or SynthMaster 3 Player have ads?
Neither Soft Drummer nor SynthMaster 3 Player shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Soft Drummer or SynthMaster 3 Player?
Soft Drummer ships an update every 4 weeks, and SynthMaster 3 Player weekly. Most recently, Soft Drummer was updated on November 11, 2026 and SynthMaster 3 Player on November 13, 2026.

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